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Thursday, 13 August 2015

Oscar Pistorius is about to be released from prison after only 10months.

Oscar Pistorius
will be released from jail next week after serving 10 months of his
five year sentence for killing his girlfriend, the model Reeva
Steenkamp.

While the former athlete did not apply for early release himself, the
parole board at Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria where he is being
held has recommended he be released into the community at the first
opportunity.After a trial which gripped the world’s attention and
ultimately found him guilty of culpable homicide, Pistorius’s time in
prison has itself not been without controversy.But in June, the South African correction services confirmed he would
serve the minimum of a sixth of his five-year sentence behind bars.“He’s behaving himself very well,” said Zach Modise, the services’ national commissioner.Pistorius will leave prison on Friday 21 August, exactly 10 months on from his sentence hearing.Whether
he will remain free, however, is another matter. His case remains
subject to a Supreme Court appeal hearing in November, when prosecutors
will argue that his conviction should be scaled up to murder – and a
minimum 15-year jail term.He would not be expected to attend the
appeal hearing, in which five judges will be asked to decide whether
Judge Thokozile Masipa correctly interpreted the law when she found
Pistorius not guilty of murder.She made her decision despite the
athlete having fired four times through a locked toilet door into a tiny
cubicle which, having heard the door slam shut, he knew was occupied.On the basis of protecting his “privacy”, correctional services
officials have declined to provide details on Pistorius’s specific
conditions for supervision once he leaves jail.Manelisi Wolela, a
spokesperson for the department, suggested the former athlete would be
subject to the standard system for all offenders as “mandated by law”. In practice, it has been reported that Pistorius will live under
effective house arrest at his uncle Arnold’s home in Waterkloof,
Pretoria.He is likely to be required to do community service,
take part in regular mental health checks and refrain from drinking
alcohol.

Will he be able to compete as an athlete?

As
part of his initial supervision, Pistorius’s travel will be severely
restricted. That means that while the South African system demands he
try to secure employment after his incarceration, he will in practice
struggle to return to professional athletics.The organising body behind the Paralympics in Rio in 2016 have
already said that Pistorius will not be permitted to compete, regardless
of his bail conditions. Officials from the Olympics have declined to
comment on his situation.Provided he commits no further crimes to
trigger his additional three-year suspended sentence, and the state’s
appeal against his sentence fails, Pistorius will have served his full
punishment by the time the 2020 Olympics comes around in Tokyo.By then he will be aged 33, some way past the peak age for most professional sprinters.

What do the Steenkamps think about it?

June Steenkamp, Reeva Steenkamp's
mother, gives a press conference ahead of a discussion on her book
'Reeva, a Mother's story'

. Reeva's parents have said despite not wishing
for Mr Pistorius to suffer
At the time of Pistorius’s parole hearing, Ms Steenkamp’s parents, June
and Barry Steenkamp, condemned the decision to release the athlete so
early in his sentence.In a strongly worded letter, which
officials said had been taken into consideration, they said: “We do not
seek to avenge her death and we do not want Mr Pistorius to suffer; that
will not bring her back to us."However, a person found guilty of a crime must be held accountable for their actions.“Statistics
show that our society is under continuous attack from criminals and
murderers. Incarceration of 10 months for taking a life is simply not
enough. We fear that this will not send out the proper message and serve
as the deterrent it should.”